


Livin' On a... Vial of River Water?

by CoyoteStarrksAss



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: AU: Zag Was Raised on Olympus, Apollo doesnt speak but he is here, Ares and Athena are implied to have known Nyx before Zag was born, Demeter and Ares are closest to Zag, Gentlethems this is My emotional support war god, I also dont mean the ares tag in a bad way, Persephone is alluded to, Self-Discovery, Self-Indulgent, Zag: bro why do i gotta have this stupid vial, beats Big Brother Ares into the ground, i had more tags but i accidentally closed my tab im so sad, more than Nyx and Hades are at least, most of the fic dialogue is in the past which is why it's italicized, no ships, the gods canNOT lie here, the gods: lmao anyways, the idea not Ares himself ofc, theyre just terrible at lies, w Dionysus and Aphrodite comin right after, well Athena more than Ares but he was close
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:13:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27173641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoyoteStarrksAss/pseuds/CoyoteStarrksAss
Summary: Zagreus has grown up on Mount Olympus, in the company and care of the other Olympians and other various gods. He enjoyed his life, mostly. He cares for his family.But he's never been allowed to go far from Olympus, especially not without the vial of river water he has to constantly keep safe. He can never let it empty, either. He doesn't know why.Then, when he's buzzed, Dionysus lets slip a secret that gets Zag's attention, and he goes from asking Athena what this Underworld business is to being in front of the Twelve Olympians and having his life turned upside down.Guess he's gotten his answers, sorta! Only thing is, now he's got to go underground to find the rest.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 144





	Livin' On a... Vial of River Water?

**Author's Note:**

> my dumbass closed the tab for this the first time i tried to post this so uhhhhhhhhhhhh i cant remember. Everything i had but uh
> 
> p much still sorta the same Zag ? still obsessed w family, w findin his mom, w gettin out of places,,,, my boy didnt change much
> 
> probs wont continue this idea in fic ! If ya wanna hear me talk abt it ig pop to tumblr or smth as i like to spew my thots there bc who doesnt yanno ? what else is tumblr for truly anyway
> 
> I will NOT be taking mean comments abt Ares he is Zag's big brother figure and i WILL die defending this stance of mine let me have this
> 
> also hera and hephaestus are the only non-game characters who have lines. forgot to give apollo some im sorry king ;; also the gods Hestia, Selene, and Helios are mentioned but thats literally not entirely important. u may even miss their mentions so

_"Don't let that vial of yours ever run out of its contents, Zagreus. I dread to think of what would befall you should it ever!"_

_"Heya there, Coz, your vial's lookin' a little low there! Want me to head down to the River while I'm in the mortal realm? Won't take me but a moment!"_

_"My kin, you ought to place that vial in a safer place. Should it ever break and its contents empty… Well, you won't like the outcome, and neither would we! I'd hate for something horrible to happen, so why don't I just place it a bit further back here for you. Do try to find a more suitable, much more stable, area here soon, though."_

_"Little sprout, do be careful, there. That vial must be looked after with the utmost importance. Why, let's you and I make a quick trip to the realm below, and refill it now? There's safety in numbers, and I wouldn't dare let anything bring you to harm."_

_"You're leaving Olympus, little Zig-Zag? Watch yourself out there; don't forget, don't fall **in** the River, now! I may be the god of the sea, but to lose you in a body of water not of my domain would pain me just as greatly as if it were my own!"_

_"Oh, dearest, do be careful out there. It'd be a shame if we lost you to… Well, any others that lurk below~!"_

_"Heed our words, Zagreus. You've not met many, but the dangers of the mortal realm are next to nothing compared to the dangers you could run into even further down below. Take care of yourself, and that vial; once it is filled, return post-haste to our mountain. You'll be safe from harm, here, where we can watch over you."_

_"Zag, man, I gotta tell ya, for that vial to be empty would just **not** be a fun time for you! I'd hate to lose my best party buddy, yes I would, so I tell ya what; **watch** yourself out there, man! I'll greet you at the door when you get back, though, don't you worry!"_

_"You're going back down…? Okay, well, just be careful out there, Zag. I dread to think… Well, just be careful, alright? I'll keep my eye out from here, though, so don't feel lonely!_

_"Just… Come back safe, won't you?"_

Zagreus has heard little else over his many years on Olympus. At least, little else when he expressed that his vial needs to be replenished, or mentioned it at all. He isn't sure why it's so important, both to himself and to his family.

 _His family._ The gods, the Olympians, that reside upon Mount Olympus with him. He's met many over the years, but the ones who stick near to him most are Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Demeter, Dionysus and Hermes. Most often, it's Ares and Demeter who stick closest to him, even out of the list of those. He's never been able to ask them why, lest they shy away from the subject or outright ignore his questions entirely.

He has wondered, all his life, why that could be. He remembers little of what his childhood was like, beyond the knowledge that it was filled with joy and laughter and anything he had ever wanted, but he can recall a certain… Loneliness, in the memories. A distinction, even. 

As he swings his legs over the side of the cliff—for what is any mountain without its cliffs—he had perched himself on, he looks down at the vial that has very well been with him all his life. A fair-sized item, capable of fitting in almost the entirety of his palm, filled with a blood red substance. Not as thick as blood, though just as sticky, if pooled into the hands. It doesn't appear so, though, in the mortal realm; only when he makes his way back to Olympus does it turn this colour, otherwise looking like pristine water from any other old river. 

He'd asked Dionysus, none too long ago, what the River was even called. One of the nights he'd attempted to learn why he needed to drink little sips from it every month, and why he even needed the vial in the first place.

 _"Well Zag, I'll tell ya, man, it just ain't my place to say,"_ Dionysus had answered as he always did, words just a tad bit slurred due to his drinking copious amounts of his godly-hood—wine—moments before. 

_"Come now, you can't even tell me its name?"_ Zag had pressed. _"What harm will a name do?"_

 _"Oh, Zag, my friend, it'd do a **lot**." _Dionysus had suddenly become very serious when Zagreus asked such, but a long look from the latter had caused the other god to sigh, a shrug moving his shoulders. 

_"Oh, but what the hell, there's probably not so much harm now that you're older!"_ Dionysus had laughed. _"Besides, you're a smart god, a smart god, I'll give ya that, so listen here;_

_"The name of the River is Styx. The River Styx!"_

That River Styx, which ran from the Underworld into the mortal world of Greece. The mortals, who revered and worshipped those on Mount Olympus with that same reverence, and who feared and regarded those in the Underworld with that same fear. 

That River Styx, which Zagreus had to go down to, every other month, to refill with its waters the vial with which he was made to drink from every two weeks.

That River Styx, which, for some reason, was so important to Zagreus and his life. 

He had burned the name into his memory, promising himself in a nearly-drunk stupor that he would not forget it even when his hangover set in. And not forget it he had, for as soon as he had awoken the next day, he had made for the libraries of the goddess of wisdom Athena, searching each hall for books on it. That search is what had led him to finding out of the Underworld, in all actuality. He hadn't known of it before, in the many moons he had come to see pass. 

_"Great cousin, Lady Athena,"_ he had gone to the goddess after realizing she was near to him, _"What is the Underworld? Why must I drink from a River that spouts out of it?"_

(He'd managed to get Dionysus in quite a bit of trouble, for that one. Oddly enough, the god of wine and madness hadn't retaliated against him for it in any way. 

_"I'd never hurt you, Zag, man, there's just no way,"_ the god had justified it later.)

Athena had not much to say of the Underworld, each time he had asked her after that time, but she had finally given some inches into telling him something of it, just a few hours before. 

_"There are other—Chthonic—gods there, Zagreus, who are family in ways even I don't understand."_ She'd relented, looking almost fearful to tell him. _"Gods born far beyond either of our time. I am great friends with one of them."_

 _"Whom might that be?"_ He'd asked, genuinely curious. Her expression had grown even more clouded following it. 

_"…The goddess of Night, Nyx."_ She'd answered slowly. _"A very elder goddess, I have known her for some time. Lord Ares and I share a great fondness over her company, rare as it may be that we are graced with it."_

 _"Wait, Lord Ares knows of her, as well?"_ Zagreus had been shocked; he'd never heard the god of war speak of a friend. Not namely, and certainly not by such a pronoun. _"I've not heard her name. Why would he not tell me?"_

_"Dear cousin, don't gain defense; brother Ares means no disrespect._

_"It is not my place to discuss. Please, ask me no further about her."_

_"Why not? Why are all of you keeping so many secrets from me?"_ He'd asked suddenly, nearly grabbing the goddess' arm as she had turned away. 

_"Am I not to be trusted by my own family? Why is it that you, Aphrodite, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus and Ares have all called me cousin, yet neither Zeus nor Poseidon call me their 'nephew'? They don't even call me 'son,' for that matter._

_"Demeter has denied her being my mother, yet I know of no other to call or ask so. You have all denied being my siblings, yet I am your cousin. Who are my parents? Why must I drink from an Underworld River? What is being hidden from me?"_

The goddess Athena had looked pained with each word Zagreus questioned, and when he finally finished in his asking, she had studied him closely before giving a set to her jaw. 

_"It is not my place, dear cousin, to speak on the subject."_ She had finally said carefully, similar to what she had said before. _"But… If you are so desperate to know… I suppose we, as the Olympians elder to you, are incapable of hiding it as we have heretofore now._

 _"We should have watched our words."_ She'd muttered more to herself than to him, after giving a sigh. _"This is our doing."_

 _"Please, just- tell me what you mean."_ Zagreus had all but begged, the book on the River Styx now closed in his hands. 

_"I want to know why I'm regarded so closely. What is it about me that must be protected so dearly? Why is it that I must be watched over as if a child, despite my being a god the same as the rest of you? Am I so untrustworthy that I cannot even learn the secrets you all have unsuccessfully managed to hide?"_

_"Dear Zagreus, it isn't that at all. What must be protected of you… Besides yourself, it is your very life."_ Were the last words Lady Athena had given him before telling him to follow after. They had moved to the great hall of Olympus in which the Olympians held their greatest discussions, whether that be over the mortal world or dinner. Each of the other eleven gods present (for there were twelve gods named Olympian, Athena being one of them) looked downtrodden and guilty, the eight, sans Athena, of which Zagreus knew so personally looking just as fearful as Athena had before. 

(None of them, however, looked as frightened as Ares and Demeter did.)

 _"Young Zagreus."_ Zeus had greeted him, he recalled, first. The confidence he normally had within his voice sounded forced, but Zagreus made no mention of it; if only because he didn't understand, then, why it would be.

_"We, as your family… We've long feared this day, I'm afraid."_

_"But why? What… By your own names, why would you fear this? Are you going to tell me I'm not really a god?"_

_"Dearest, please understand,"_ Aphrodite, a bit to his right, had said placatingly, looking as though she wanted to reach out to him despite staying seated in her throne. _"You're a god, that much is for certain. Just… Please listen."_

 _"She is right, little sprout,"_ Demeter had piped up, clearing her throat. _"Listen to what Lord Zeus must say, Zagreus. It… It is imperative you do."_

 _"Well, I was going to say how it isn't, for the most part, my story to tell,"_ Zeus had admitted, looking across from himself to a particular god. As Zagreus looked and found his gaze having been led to Ares, whom for once in his godly life looked embarrassed, he felt his stomach turn, suddenly nervous. 

_"My son, Ares; you're the one to have found our young Zagreus so long ago. Why don't **you** relay the story for us?"_

_"Wait a minute, ‘found-?’"_ Zagreus had tried to ask, but the god of war lifted his hand, to silence him. As much as Zagreus hated to be silenced, and hated even more to follow an order when already on edge, he would never disrespect Ares in respect to the relationship they both held with one another. It would be as if Zagreus were to disrespect a beloved brother, despite him not having a blood brother, so far as he knew, to ever do so with, anyway.

 _"It…"_ The god had sighed, nearly slumping in his own throne. The other Olympians looked a mix of confusion or intrigued, as if the tale about to be told hadn't been one they had really thought of or remembered in quite some time. 

_"It was many years ago, my kin… Zagreus."_ He had spoken directly to the young god, ignoring the looks of the others. _"I was in the mortal realm; doing my duties as the god of war, as you might well imagine._

_"My duties this particular day, however, brought me to the mouth of a very particular river; as you now know it to be called, it was the River Styx, one of, if not **the** , most famous Rivers of all the Underworld. It isn't of much interest in the mortal realm to me as the sight seen in the Underworld is, but what caught my attention to it was the fact that a goddess this realm had not seen since the days of the Titans was walking along its bank."_

_"You must mean Nyx."_ Zagreus said softly, as if afraid to break something with his very voice. Ares quite nearly flinched, but Zagreus took it for a trick of the mind. 

_"Lady Athena said you two are fond of her. She's a goddess of the Underworld… A Chthonic goddess, as Athena said."_

_"As many of us within this hall also are."_ Ares agreed, though he hadn't expanded upon that admittance. Zagreus would have to find out which of them were at a later date. _"The goddess of Night, Nyx… Yes, my kin, that is the very same I saw. Were it that I have not the interest in the Underworld as I do, I'm sure I would have turned away; even my own father, Lord Zeus, fears Lady Nyx.”_

 _"Must you mention it, my son?"_ The god of lightning, king of them all, had muttered, but the slightest upturn of the mouth signaled he knew the other god was simply trying to cut the tension within the air.

_"I did not, however, and instead went to greet her. Having heard from my half-sister Lady Athena about the goddess, I held no fear, and no untoward feelings, for her. She, on the other hand, immediately grew defensive; I wasn't able to see why until I swore upon the Fates that I was to bring her no harm."_

Zagreus had felt as though he were going mad with the slow pace of the story, then, but now, having mulled on the conversation for some time, he had come to realize that the slowness must have been Ares' own want to not reveal the truth, still. 

(Whether that was due to the reason in which had made him tell the story, or because he had planned on keeping the story hidden all Zagreus' immortal life, however, was a mystery still to the young god.)

_"She was carrying a young baby, my kin. Not necessarily a newborn, but nonetheless just as young. She was as protective over it as if it were her own child, though she admitted she was not; only that she had brought the child from death with her own powers, giving her a sense of protectiveness toward it… Toward **him**."_

Zagreus had faltered. His mind had felt as if it were racing yet blank all at the same time. 

It eventually, however, came to pass through to him that Ares had enunciated " _him_ " for a particular reason.

_"Me… Nyx, she… You're saying—you’re insinuating… That she was holding **me**?"_

Demeter had looked away, an unreadable look in her eyes, but Ares had truly flinched, then, before continuing on. 

_"Indeed, my kin. You, Zagreus… You are no Olympian, as we have raised you to believe since that day. You are a god of the Underworld, long since taken from your birthplace by the goddess Nyx."_

_"Why?"_ Zagreus had immediately asked, trying to keep his voice from becoming harsh. None of this was making sense, even now. _"Why was I taken away? What happened that ended with my coming here?"_

 _"She asked Lord Ares to bring you, my little sprout."_ Demeter was finally facing forward again, though her eyes, normally so warm towards him, had avoided meeting Zagreus' still. 

_"Goddess Nyx had been attempting to take you from the Underworld because you were born there still, sprout. Her powers sustained you enough to bring you to life, but by then… Well, as Lord Ares has told me before, Nyx relented to him that the god who presides over the Underworld was already affected by your death at birth. Hearing of your life would have done more harm than good, she feared, and as the realm below once belonged solely to her, it was her duty to repair the seams that threatened to break."_

_"She could not, however, stand the thought of leaving you to death."_ Ares had picked back up, having looked at Demeter rather gratefully. _"So, in bringing you back, she had planned on leaving you to mortals. Near to the Styx, because she found that being within this realm, above the Underworld… For some reason, it makes you sick. Takes your very life, my kin, the longer you preside, and the further from the River you are. It is why we have always instructed you to keep that vial safe; filled with the very waters that keep you with us, it keeps you from returning to the Underworld in turn. Even having a small container such as that upon our mountain was enough to keep you here, given that it never ran empty. To consume it, it gives you even more of a tether to this realm."_

 _"Please understand, Zagreus; we never wanted to hurt you, nor to lie to you."_ Another Olympian—Aphrodite’s husband, Hephaestus, Zagreus had seen—had spoken up then. He wasn't a god Zagreus was particularly close to, but he seemed to be empathetic to being cast from one's home, a feeling that was understood given that Zagreus knew his story. 

_"Goddess Nyx entrusted you to us because she was worried not just for the Underworld and its god, but for **you** , little Zig-Zag." _Poseidon, for once not sounding joyful, had spoken up as well. _"Lord Zeus and I's brother… Well, I dread to think what he would do to **us** , even, should he realize you're alive."_

 _"Hold a moment; ' **brother**?'" _Zagreus had repeated. He felt almost- dizzy, like he had drunk one too many glasses of wine with Dionysus. This was more information than he'd ever heard all at once.

_"What do you mean, brother? You… Wait. Don't tell me that means…"_

_"Our brother is the god who was entrusted—or punished, if we're being honest as we are—with the Underworld, Lord Hades. And…"_

Poseidon had stopped. Zagreus had been sure no one was even breathing, thankful none of them had to, in that moment. 

_"Lord Hades is your father, my kin."_ Ares had finally continued for him, making sure he looked away from Zagreus. 

_"Then… You, you've all… You hid this. You all knew, and yet you hid it from me."_

Zagreus had wanted to—he didn't know, then, and he doesn't know now, what he'd wanted to do. He had felt rage, and betrayal, and hurt, and curious and envious and many other things. He still does, even now. 

But there was one thing he wanted to know most of all. 

_"If Hades is my father, who is my mother?"_ He had allowed himself to demand this. 

_"I want to know. No, I **have** to know. Who is my mother, and where can I find her?!"_

_"Little sprout, please."_ Demeter had near-begged (though Zagreus knew this to be a trick of the mind as well; the elder goddess Demeter never begged, and she would never start to), but Aphrodite, again, tried to placate him. 

_"Dearest, we understand that you're angry. Please, understand, however, too; we did what we thought was best for you. Goddess Nyx did not want you to know of that realm, and I'm sure she has her reasons."_

_"Besides, Coz,"_ Hermes had finally spoken, having been uncharacteristically silent that entire time. _"Even if we could, we have no idea who your mother is; Goddess Nyx never provided such information."_

 _"Surely she knew?"_ He'd asked, but nobody looked as though they knew any wiser. 

_"I am the goddess of marriage, dear Zagreus, but I am also the goddess of family and childbirth; and yet, even I couldn't tell you which god gave birth to you."_ Queen of the Heavens, sat to the right of Zeus, the goddess Hera had been the only one to provide some sort of answer to his question.

_"Whomever they are, they are unbeknownst to us. Though, there is one in whom has not been seen for almost an aeon, and I would be willing—"_

_"—That is enough, Lady Hera."_ Demeter had cut off the Queen sharply, and while Hera had sent her a warning look, there was apology in her eyes, as well. Zagreus did not know why. 

_"That one… No, she simply cannot be. I… I would know._

_"Besides which, we've relayed so much to my little sprout in a short amount of time. Let us conclude this meeting, instead of filling him with false hopes."_

That had been the very quick end to the very long-standing questions Zagreus had had for moons. He had sequestered himself to the spot on the cliff behind the great hall, afterward, unwilling to even look at the Olympians he had known all his life. Whether they had spoken to him or not during that ordeal, he was in no mood to see any of them, for the time being.

The Fates proved themselves unwilling to provide him respite from any of them, however, because he sensed someone behind him just as the memories ended in his mind. He knew full well who it was; the brush of armour over fabric was unmistakable for any other god, for the aura of anger that washed over Zagreus comfortably would always give him away.

"My kin." Ares greeted him neutrally, testing the waters. When Zagreus did not curse him out, though he did not turn to face him either, the god sat beside him. 

"Zagreus." Ares tried again, sounding just a tad irritated. More the respect he was used to having from Zagreus being disturbed than it was true irritation, but Zagreus had every right to ignore the god.

He did not, however, want to. 

"Why did you take me from Nyx, Lord Ares?"

There was a moment of silence. A breeze picked up, and Zagreus instinctively held onto the vial of Styx water, still in his hand, a bit more firmly. 

"I am not known for empathy, Zagreus, nor for care; that does not mean I have _none_." The god admitted gently. "For while there is no harm in having none—I know very many who do not, many in whom I am close to personally—I have always had _some_. I reserve it for my family and for what I hold to be of interest. For what I hold _dear_."

Zagreus knew he meant to convey that he was dear to Ares, that Zagreus was his family. It warmed a part of his soul, to hear it.

And yet.

"That doesn't explain why I was lied to and this all was hidden from me. Why was I not told? Surely I could have come home, even if I were to have sought out my father! We upon this mountain know full well how next to impossible it is to hold me down to one location!"

Ares reached out to set a calloused hand on top of Zagreus's free one. An effective anchor to his racing heart and thoughts, as it had always been. It managed to settle his anger some. 

"Your penchant for constantly being on the move is no secret to anyone, my kin." Ares agreed, a hint of amusement in his voice. "But I fear you may be wrong in saying you could return home, should you seek out counsel with Hades."

"Why? What makes you think so?" Zagreus asked of him, and an odd shadow of worry passed over the other god's red gaze. 

"Hades believes you are dead, my kin. He has _believed_ you are dead. For you to suddenly appear in his realm… 

"I have met with Hades very few times, Zagreus." Ares started anew. "Almost all at times before you came to live here upon Olympus. 

"There was one instance, however. Perhaps a decade after I brought you here. Demeter had taken you down to the mortal realm, child as you were, to refill your vial while also avoiding the Underworld's Lord and Master."

"Okay… I believe I'm following." Zagreus mused when the god paused. Ares gave a small noise of acknowledgement. 

"He looked almost as if he were a shade of the dead himself, Zagreus." Ares finally relented, his eyes fixed on the horizon. 

"Your 'death' affected Hades so tremendously that it's caused him to nearly become one of his subjects. At least, that early on after the event, it had. For you to appear to him now, while we have no idea if he has recovered or is beginning to… I fear, just as Lady Nyx did so long ago, that the knowledge of your living on will do him more harm than good."

"But that's-!" Zagreus wanted to argue, but Ares held up his own free hand to silence him once more, as he had in the hall. Zagreus groaned, but relented. His fingers, underneath the god of war's, tapped restlessly upon the ground. 

"If you wish to follow what you want to do, though, my kin, I—we—will not stop you."

"You won't… You won't what?" Zagreus asked in confusion. Then, when it dawned on him, "Hold on, ' _we_ '? Do you mean-?"

"I do." Ares nodded, looking to the young god, finally. 

"We kept this hidden from you because we felt it was the right thing to do—for you, I should specify. 

"However, I took you that day also in part because _I_ felt it was the right thing to do for you." He continued on, the faintest smile coming to his features. "And I have never regretted that decision, my kin. 

"I do, however, regret now that I asked my fellow Olympians to lie to you, and they so regret doing so as well, seeing that it has caused you emotional turmoil. As reconciliation, should you choose to venture to the realm of your father, whether that be to solely reconcile with him or to also attempt to find your mother… We will assist you, my kin."

The young god stared at Ares, rather dumbfounded by the god of war's words. It took him several moments to finally formulate a sentence, trying not to fumble his words. 

"You're not messing with me, right, Lord Ares?" He asked almost breathlessly. "You're being serious? You, and the others, like Artemis and Demeter and them… You all would really assist me in trying to greet my father?"

"Of course, my kin, from our Lord, my father, Zeus to even my half-sister Artemis, we will assist you. You know nine of us twelve Olympians have always been close to you, there is no reason we should not do this for you."

"And what of Queen Hera? Apollo and Hephaestus?" 

Ares sighed, finally moving his hand from Zagreus' as he took to stand.

"My mother will help in her own way. As to say, not in a way that will assist you _physically_ , my kin." He admitted, holding his hand out. It took Zagreus several moments to realize he was going to help him up. 

"Half-brother Apollo, however, is unable to assist in any way; the Underworld, untouched by the chariot of the Sun he will one day gain from Lord Helios, is far too below his powers. Half-sister Artemis can only help because she is akin to the night in her own way, as she has gained reign of the Moon from Goddess Selene almost completely."

 _The mortals must not like the idea of so many gods, then, if Lady Artemis has already garnered most of the Moon's reign._ Zagreus thought to himself as he took Ares' hand, the god pulling him to stand. _How odd they are, to associate two entirely separate gods with other's powers!_

"As for Hephaestus, he has deemed it so that he will help in some non-physical way, as well, my kin." Ares finished, a hand coming to pat Zagreus' shoulder. "I suppose you will only know of his assistance when you see it."

"Seems so." Zagreus agreed, looking back toward the horizon. 

Ares did not ignore the action.

"What is it, my kin?" He asked. Then, "Zagreus?"

"I'm not going to stop calling you Lord Ares; I see no reason for you to stop calling me your kin. After all, a bit of anger won't bring an end to that." The younger assured him, turning to him with a smile. The gesture made the other visibly relax. 

"I'm just… I suppose I feel I understand, a bit more, about myself. Not completely, of course, but…"

"Enough that you feel determined, I take it?" Ares offered to him. 

"Yes." Zagreus agreed after a moment. "Determined, indeed.

"I'm going back to the temple. I'm going to gather what I need. Before setting off for… Well, you know."

"I do indeed." Ares nodded, giving him a smirk. "I'm proud of you, my kin. Only the most noble of warriors can say they've felt my pride."

"I feel as though I'm more your brother than I am a warrior, arguably, but sure." Zagreus teased him in response. The god of war threw his head back with a laugh.

"I can't argue with an argument like that, my kin, but I mean what I said." He assured the younger, genuinely smiling at him. 

"Prepare yourself, Zagreus, for I expect many enemies to be left in your wake as you traverse through your father's realm. Use my training to your benefit."

"It need not be only your training he makes use of, Lord Ares."

Zagreus and Ares turned to find Demeter, silently graceful as she had always been, had walked up to them, the warmth having returned to her eyes since Zagreus last saw her. 

(In the back of his mind, Zagreus knew this to be some sort of foreshadow; whether purposefully her doing or a coincidence, he wasn't sure, however.)

"Lady Demeter." Zagreus greeted her, smile directed to her as well. She seemed relieved at the prospect. 

"My little sprout, do your best to follow your heart." She told him, a hand—cold as the winters she wrought upon the mortal realm—coming up to rest upon his cheek, hot as the flames the goddess Hestia tended to. 

"I will, Demeter. I promise you, I'll greet my father and find my mother, and then I'll return here—return home—when I have. Perhaps even with them on hand."

An unreadable look passed in Demeter's gaze, but she quickly rid herself of it. Zagreus made note of it, but if Ares, even, was not going to point it out, neither would he. 

"Your father, Hades, and I… We have seldom gotten along." She admitted gently. "But… I would be willing to. For you, my little Zagreus.

"Do not misunderstand me, though; if you find it in you that you wish to stay in the Underworld, Zagreus… to stay in the land you were born… Then follow that wish."

"Lady Demeter-" Ares sounded flabbergasted, but she shook her head at him. 

"It is up to Zagreus what he chooses to do." She told him as if reminding him. It sounded like she had said this line before. Perhaps this argument had happened already, before Zagreus had found out? "If his choice is _not_ Olympus, it is not our role to force it so. He is a god—prince, even—of the Underworld, the son of the god who presides it. He would not have to drink from the River Styx to sustain his life force any longer there, nor will he be as weak there as he is here."

"I am?" Zagreus asked, startled by the statement, but Demeter made no attempt to acknowledge it. 

"Simply know, little sprout, that you have the choice here. We Olympians have raised you and loved you like our own, but there is no replacement for the attention and care from our lost loved ones."

Zagreus sensed a deeper story to those words than she was letting on, reminding him of how the goddess had interrupted Hera earlier over something that seemed to be connected to all this, but right then, Ares put his hands on Zagreus' shoulders, giving him a reassuring squeeze. 

"I fear to say Lady Demeter is right, my kin." He agreed, though he sounded like he didn't want to admit so. 

"As I have told you many times before, do not take battle against yourself."

"It's most assuredly never going to be a battle I ever win." Zagreus finished almost mindlessly, the words having long since planted themselves in his head. Since he was young, Ares had always made sure the younger god understood this phrase, for one reason or another. He wondered, briefly, if that had been Ares trying to prepare him; would it be that he never had questions and had happened to find this out at random, Zagreus most definitely would _not_ be as civil, nor as calm, as he was now, with _any_ of the gods. 

Demeter and Ares smiled at him, and Zagreus couldn't help but to smile back. They gave him courage, as the gods he was closest to. To have them assist him and believe in him was confidence enough for the newly-discovered Underworld god, all the other Olympians merely the cherry on top of the god-powered sundae.

_I'll greet my father. I'll find my mother. I'll discover what the Underworld, as my birthright, has in store for me._

_Most of all, I'll bring this family together yet!_

**Author's Note:**

> Here at the end !! Yay :D !!!
> 
> I was inspired to write this by every artist who has EVER drawn Zag bein raised by other gods / on Olympus au's. You ppl are the SMARTEST bitches in this fandom. i love them sm u ppl have v large brains i hope ur aware
> 
> In any case !! Pls give a kudos and comment if ya liked this !! You should always leave a comment or at least a like on the things u like, bc it ensures creators like me keep creatin !! And again, if ya wanna ever hear me expand on this myself, u can come to tumblr and ask me !! My tumblr is in my profile :D


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